Indians’ Bieber out with COVID-19

The Indians pitchers reported to training camp without their ace.

Shane Bieber, who dominated hitters last season while winning the AL Cy Young Award, recently tested positive with COVID-19 and hasn’t yet reported to the club’s facility in Goodyear, Arizona.

President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said Thursday that Bieber had contracted the virus and would be delayed in joining his teammates

“He has very, very mild symptoms,” Antonetti said on a video call with reporters. “... He’s working through the protocols to return. We expect him to get back to the complex within the next few days.”

The 25-year-old Bieber was dominant last season, leading the league in wins (8), ERA (1.63) and strikeouts (122) — a Triple Crown for pitchers — in 12 starts.„

■ The Blue Jays expect to split the home portion of this year’s regular-season schedule among their spring training complex in Dunedin, Fla., their Triple-A ballpark in Buffalo, N.Y., and the Rogers Center in Toronto due to Canadian government restrictions on travel during the pandemic. Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro said he hopes for games in Toronto at some point during the summer . ... Phillies All-Star C J.T. Realmuto has a small fracture in his right thumb and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. He practiced on the first day of spring training Wednesday but an MRI later revealed the break. Realmuto said he’s confident he’ll be ready for the season opener April 1 . ... The Padres and star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. agreed on a 14-year, $340 million contract extension Wednesday night. It’s the third-largest contract handed out in MLB history. Tatis, who turned 22 last month, finished fourth in NL MVP voting during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season after hitting .277 with 17 HRs and 45 RBIs. As a rookie in 2019, Tatis hit .317 with 22 HRs and 53 RBIs in 84 games.

College basketball: Alabama coach Nate Oats agreed to a contract extension through the end of the 2026-27 season. His salary will increase to $3.225 million annually.

NFL: The NFL increased the salary cap to a minimum of $180 million for next season. The league and the players’ union had previously set a minimum of $175 million because of revenue losses incurred during the pandemic. The final cap number will be determined following further review of revenue figures for 2020 and other accounting. The cap was $198 million last season.

NHL: The Stars-Lightning game scheduled for Saturday was postponed, marking four straight home games for the Stars to be called off because of frigid conditions and power outages in Texas . ... Oilers captain and former league MVP Connor McDavid tallied his 500th career point with a first-period assist in Wednesday night’s 3-2 win over the Jets. The 24-year-old center is the 21st player in league history to accomplish the feat before his 25th birthday.

Olympics: As expected, seven-time Olympian Seiko Hashimoto was named president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee Thursday. Hashimoto, 56, replaces 83-yearold Yoshiro Mori, a former Japanese prime minister who was forced to resign last week after making sexist comments.